It comes from an old French word for a bite of food or a piece of something. When the word crossed over to use in English language ... public ledger it was a verb meaning to go away quickly.

Well, we’ve got a list of nine old English words you can use instead. But you should probably use these words in a DM, since the person on the other end of the message will need to use Google to ...

Cleave is also from Old English, but it is thought its two opposite meanings come from two different roots, clēofan and clifian, and that may be how the word ended up with two meanings.